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Top 10 Things to Consider When Starting Up an Event Hire Company

Posted on Feb 19, 2017 by Con Pappas

For over 20 years, Nufurn had the opportunity to work with creative event hire companies who began their business working from home with few essential inventories, to becoming award-winning leaders in the industry. The event hire business can be one of the most complex businesses to run. Not only do you have to cater to mass differences of tastes, designs, traditions, and various other needs from one client to another, but factors such as logistics and storage are high factors to consider. If estimated incorrectly, these factors can become a burden to your business model.

Here are Top 10 Things to Consider When Starting Up an Event Hire Company

1. What do you want to offer your customers?

In the past couple of years, we have seen a growth in the variety of different types of event hire companies. There are companies who provide staging, sound systems and food catering to corporate events to wedding hire companies with styling and photography services.Our advice is to think about what creative element you love the most and model your business towards it. You will end up providing your services with heart, which is the absolute competitive tool.

2. Is the business registered?

If yes, great! If not, we ask that you please consult with a business adviser. They can provide you with information on what laws apply to you and what registrations, licences and permits to have in order to run your business

3. Storage – Do you have room to store your new equipment?

Many start-up businesses begin their journey from home. Let’s make sure you have the capacity to hold all of your hire products. One of our most popular chairs in the event hire industry are the Gladiator resin folding chairs, stackable Bon Bentwood chairs and the iconic Chiavari chairs, which are also known as tiffany chairs. These are a must have for all event hire companies. Your clients tend to hire out 100 of these chairs per event to fit all their guests, so it is absolutely vital that you purchase chairs that are either folding or stackable chairs.

4. Transportation – How will you be delivering your goods?

The right vehicle is needed to transport the right chairs – this ensures longevity in your product. Smaller vehicles such as a van will prefer folding chairs for ceremonies. Once you invest in larger freight, we can look at increasing the product range.

5. Cash Flow – Where to invest your money first?

Purchasing equipment for hire can get very expensive. Customers may be looking for you to cater all their event needs which can include staging, sound systems, marquees, on top of food equipment, tables and chairs. With Silver Chef, you can Rent, Try & Then Buy. They offer short 12-month contract, low weekly rental costs, option to upgrade at any time or buy outright with a generous rebate. For more information on how Silver Chef works, click here

6. Return on Investment – What does this mean for your business?

By investing in the right equipment and furniture, you aim to gather a return on investment within the first event season and then continue to grow your profit margin as you continue to take bookings. We ask that you take a second look at the strength of your furniture and how easy it is to clean them up. Avoid purchasing furniture solely by price because if they need to be replaced in the short term, you will fall behind in your investment. Our Chiavari ONE chairs are called “ONE” because that is exactly what they are. One piece. There are no joints or bolts which make them very strong and durable.

7. Insurance & Public Liability: Are you choosing the right products in regards to safety?

Do you have the right insurance and public liability policies in place to cover your business for any injury or harm caused when using your products? Look for commercial certification and market reputation so that you have peace of mind when supplying furniture hire equipment for public and private events. The Nufurn white gladiator chair is the only resin folding chair tested & approved by both AFRDI (AS/NZS 4688.2000) Commercial Level 4: General Commercial and BIFMA International (5.1 Standard-2002).

8. Are you dealing with a reputable Australian supplier or manufacturer?

Can you rely on your supplier to help you when you are in need? Can you call your supplier and make an urgent order for furniture that you have low in stock? Many start-up businesses consider importing as the cheapest and easiest solution when it comes to furniture until something goes wrong. Which, let's face it, happens a lot. Feel the relief when you can rely on your local supplier to have a commercial warranty on the products that you purchase and faster delivery.

9. Who can you turn to when more stock is required for over bookings?

It is difficult to rely on an importer to have the exact stock as per your previous order. You often end up having a variation of colour between your old and new stock, which does not help you. Your suppliers need to keep your core products in stock, to ensure you have a backup plan to meet your client’s expectations. Learn about what products your local supplier will likely to have in stock, years on end.

10. Does your supplier love your business as much as you do?

Number 1 point and number 10 are essentially about the same thing. You must love what you do and so must your supplier. The relationship between a business owner and a supplier is sometimes overlooked but can be highly valuable. A supplier can provide you with advice on the essential hire equipment to purchase, the number of various items to store, and where to store your inventory. It’s always best to deal with a supplier who cares about their customers’ long-term investment.